US president Donald Trump has signalled he is “probably open” to meeting Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian in New York this week, as the two leaders are set to attend the United Nations General Assembly amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran.
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Asked by Fox News whether he would meet Pezeshkian during the General Assembly, Trump said he would “probably be open” to holding talks with the Iranian president. The remarks come as Trump weighs his next steps on Iran while Tehran has set out conditions for negotiations.
Trump is due to address the General Assembly on Tuesday, while Pezeshkian is scheduled to speak on Wednesday, according to Reuters and Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency. Their simultaneous presence in New York has raised the possibility of direct contact between the two leaders.
“The choreography here is going to make for a fairly dramatic moment,” Theo Wold, a former acting assistant attorney general and former White House domestic policy adviser, told Fox News Digital, referring to the planned appearances by Trump and Pezeshkian.
Trump’s two-day visit to the UN General Assembly is expected to include a series of bilateral meetings and events with foreign leaders. Reuters reported that his schedule includes meetings with the leaders of Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Japan and Iraq, as well as a meeting with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez. He is also due to meet New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The conflict with Iran is expected to feature prominently in Trump’s discussions with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council. He is also scheduled to host a reception for the council, where he is expected to meet Rodriguez in person for the first time.
The possibility of a Trump-Pezeshkian meeting comes as the wider regional conflict continues to affect energy markets and shipping. Reuters reported that oil prices fell on Sunday amid hopes of US-Iran diplomacy and signs of increased Saudi exports, although tensions remained high following Houthi attacks on Saudi targets.
Trump has also said he is in “deciding mode” on Iran and warned that “very big things” could happen, while maintaining that he remains open to diplomacy.
